The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Be wary of supposed e-mail `deals' ave you ever been offered or actually sent a cheque from a stranger who in turn is asking you to send money or a balance back to them or to another person, or business? Let me use this fictitious example for clarification. I advertise a personal ski instruction service over the Internet. For $975 you can have two days and one night at a local ski resort, with one-on-one ski instruction for both days. I was approached through an e-mail to accept a $5,000 cheque, asked take my fee out, then forward the balance to this person's travel agent. I received a cheque in the mail a few days later for $5,000. Here's the catch: the cheque was stolen and had been altered, and as a result was worthless. Had I not religiously read my Community Support Officer's weekly crime prevention column, I may have sent a cheque for $4,025 of my own money to some stranger, only to find out later that the $5,000 I had just put into my account was reversed because the cheque was counterfeit. This actually happens more often than you think. Stolen cheques can be chemically washed, and altered to appear real. They are signed, made payable to you, and are from a reputable financial institution. Here is what to look for in this situation. Will this person provide contact information? Is the information accurate? Is this person local? Finally, what will I lose if this is a scam? Would you send excess money to a stranger in the hopes that they would be honest and forward it on or return it? Contact me personally for crime prevention tips, or information regarding community concerns through 905-878-5511 extension 2470, or by e-mailing chris.borak@hrps.on.ca. Please reserve the 911 system for emergency calls only. --Const. Chris Borak is the Community Support Officer for District 1 STAG & DOE ROB TEAL DAWN CASE March 18, 8 pm - 1 am at the Acton Legion, 15 Wright St., Acton Tickets $10. For tickets call Donna 519-853-3858 Mrs. Marie Long of Georgetown and Mrs. Bernice Place of Brockville are pleased to announce the marriage of their children Shanna Marie Long to Terry Michael Lafferty. The wedding took place in Veradero, Cuba on January 6, 2006. The couple is residing in Acton. John and Sarah Malinosky of Georgetown, Ontario are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter Faith Suzanne to Joshua David Burhoe, son of David and Jane Burhoe of Sacramento, California. The wedding will take place on August 4, in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Stag & Doe for Vanessa Exelby & David Boyington March 11th, 8 pm-1 am at the Royal Canadian Legion 127 Mill St., Georgetown Tickets $10 For tickets please call Amanda 519-853-1821 or Alisa 905-805-0766